Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for March 12, 2024

It’s come full circle. I remember, years ago, when Luann broke new ground talking about her “.”

I’m sure Brad will be coming in shortly and TJ will be acting all strange.

.

My best guess is Toni probably isn’t pregnant. But I bet this will start a serious discussion about their plans to start a family.

This sentence has something in common with Toni

Sounds like Toni missed her period.

Remember from Grease Rizzo: I feel like a defective typewriter. Marty: Huh? Rizzo: I skipped a period.

TJ was slow – hence he’s late.

Yep ohhhh, TJ. But, she doesn’t look happy. Or excited. Or anticipative. That’s worrisome, don’t you agree, TJ?

Took you long enough, TJ…

Darn. Toni forgot to set her clock forward

look like a little firefighter is coming down the pole!

If Toni wanted to keep this a secret from Brad, it’s too late now.

It’s late… it’s latteeee.. it’s lateeeee… you got the cbs and… oh right this isn’t a talking heads song this is a young woman possibly being pregnant when she can’t really afford to be given both her high risk career, already basically raising her niece, and their modest budget.

But why couldn’t she have been happy about this news?!?!?!

Talk about I can’t wait for this arc!

Is TJ trying to emulate Bernice? Or is he just trying (LOL)??

Called it.

Are those home-pregnancy tests accurate?

Which means they need your bedroom, TJ, you failed sitcom actor. Time to pack.

I don’t want Toni to be pregnant because I don’t want Greg and Karen to ruin her marriage to Brad.

Toni, Toni, Toni. Tell your husband first.

Actually, being late doesn’t always mean a thing. Heck my cycles ranged anywhere from 27 to 45 days.

I sort of felt like the strip had a solid good solution with the “should we have children” notion with Shannon since Toni doesn’t have to stop being a firefighter to parent a child and they can shuffle her out of the strip conveniently without constantly having the reader say, “where is Shannon, who’s looking after Shannon?!” cause she has a parent who occasionally keeps her at his place.

Here I’m kind of worried about what directions this would go down. We know Brad wants a child, we know Toni never wanted to have kids because of her upbringing. (This was something they definitely should’ve discussed before getting hitched by the way) It’s going to be an issue. Once she has a child she’ll probably reconsider career options (I mean, it’s not a definite that she would but, in real life, c’mon we know how that would go).

I feel like the option of her not keeping the baby is almost definitely not going to be the route the Evanses will go with this, cause… look, if they’re going to get wild and controversial NOW in the strip’s run, frankly I’d be shook. People were having heart attacks over Bernice and Nancy reading an romance novel. If Toni did that I cannot even begin to imagine the flame wars that would brake out.

If they have Toni be convinced that she does want to be a mother by Brad or Nancy or TJ people would probably get annoyed because this happened in other fictional shows and people often get bothered by it.

I feel like having it be a false alarm might be something that wouldn’t exactly come as a surprise since the strip’s coasted on status quo and I’m not sure if they have it in them to shake it up. If they do, as iffy as I feel it would be to the story for Toni the Firefighter, I have to say that her becoming a mom is the option that seems the best. I guess I just hope that getting Toni to that sentiment is the part that I hope is handled well.

I would never have told T.J. before Brad! Brad should be the first to know. T.J. will rat it out as soon as Brad walks in the door and it should be a private moment between Toni and Brad!

The REAL surprise will be when the baby is born and it has black curly hair, squinty eyes, toothy grin and a swarmy, scheming disposition…

Toni told TJ before she told Brad?

No longer is every sentence ending in a “.”

Just trying to remember— the pill is effective about 97% of the time?

Looks like the cat is out of the bag that there’s a bun in the oven? How clichéd! :D

1. I think Toni wanted to discuss it with TJ. Otherwise she would have opened bag in bathroom as other women do.

2. I hope it’s a false alarm, periods are late for many reasons. Not every marriage now has to end in children.

I guess I won’t be seeing Luann for a while now.

Give TJ a break, he lacks experience

Why tell TJ anything?

I hope there is some actual movement forward. Brad has been VERY open on his desire to be a father; it’s Toni and her deep-seated mommy & daddy issues that seem to be the problem. Toni may not be pregnant but this can be a way for her to finally deal with those issues.

TJ not late, just SLLOOOOOOWWWWWWW!

If you shoot enough times, you will eventually hit the target.

I can tell this involves pregnancy. I just know it.

Not sure why everyone says Toni doesn’t want to be a mom ever. I thought she wasn’t ready last time it came up but was open to it later. And she could still be a firefighter (yes, women do that in real life.)

If it’s a girl, I hope it looks like Toni. If it’s a boy, I hope it looks more like Toni than Brad.

Crap.

So Old Smiley gets the long awaited News that BRAD should have gotten FIRST.

And what’s probably gonna be WORSE, Smiley and Toni may have the “What should I do?” conversation THAT should ONLY take place between Hubby Brad and Wifey Toni.

Sorry. IMO, “Three’s a CROWD,” here, I don’t give a DARN whether TJ “cooks” or not.

A REAL “true friend” who had a decent paying job and his OWN financial means would have moved out long ago to give his “best pal” and “best pal’s bride,” some much needed PRIVACY.

Yeah, Yeah, I know what you’re gonna say: “But Cramming TJ, Brad and Toni together under one roof lends itself to more story ideas!”

Ah.

But OTOH, Tiffany Farrell spends most of her time LIVING ALONE when she’s not in the dorm. And yet “lonely Tiff” gets some of, if not the BEST stories in the Strip.

So, cramming unalike “folks” in the same lifeboat isn’t always a “win-win,” IMO.

I find all women who suspect they’re pregnant share that information with lots of people before they discuss it with their husband, especially other guys.

OOooooooh! Yeah.

I don’t want to be thinking about this while I’m eating breakfast.

My daughter is 40, so 41 years ago they packaged the first home pregnancy tests. It wasn’t a magic stick with display screen and multiple cross checks. You took a clean catch of her morning urine, put drops in a tube of magic solution, shook it, poured it into a special stand, and waited. My daughter’s first baby picture was a black O that formed on top of the test solution. My doctor took it as fact and said they were as reliable as his tests. It really cut into doctor and lab revenues.

WHY would she tell TJ before Brad?

Finally a new story line.

If you mention being late to most single men, they would not immediately think of pregnancy. That is not how they think.

time for TJ to move in with Gunther and Les

I like TJ’s reaction in the last panel. It seems Toni’s feelings on the pregnancy possibility are based on how Brad feels about it. THE talk is long overdue.

Congratulations to Toni for managing to wipe that rictus grin off of TJ’s face. A difficult task.

It’s a good thing that Toni can discuss this with TJ before talking to Brad. He knows how to talk to people and she seems to be too nervous to talk to Brad. I think Toni is scared of the idea of becoming a mother because she’s afraid that her child might have her same experience of losing the parents during childhood. Brad understands her and loves her infinitely, but TJ lost his mother and hasn’t seen her father in years, so he knows what it means to be alone, he could probably find the right words to help her decide what to do.

Better late than never !

In TJ’s defense, being late wasn’t completely clear.

Late? for very important date?

the plot thickens

it’ll be twins!!

Not right to tell him before Brad

Well folks, it’s 2024, let’s get with the times. Toni the feminist doesn’t wan’t to be pregnant but Brad wants a child. So TJ, who likes the domestic life, says he will carry the baby. Doing some quick TRANSition work with the help of Dr. Strange, TJ becomes Tami Jane and gives birth to another bratty little Shannon.

That’s the way you do it! TJ knows how to show concern and support! Go show that action to Luann and Miss Headshrinker!

“…. and I wanted you to be the first to know. Because we intend to sleep through the night. Yeah right.”

IF Toni were pregnant, I wonder if her brotherwould take a more active role in Shannon’s life.

I keep reading other comments before I write mine and I find myself disagreeing preemptively and I engage in my response some scolding of others without just writing my opinion. For that I apologize. Now for my opinion: I see HERE (SORRY MY TABLET HaS A MIND OF ITS OWN) I THINK THIS IS A SETUP TO A MAJOR Part of the story in the strip—the possible pregnancy of Toni, the relationship of Toni’s traumatic family past, contrasted with the desire of Brad, who comes from the only consistently loving stable family in the strip to having a baby with the love of his life. She has hesitation because of that traumatic past and stress because of the desire of the love of her life, Brad. As for TJ, he loves, and has sincere concern for and love of both Brad and Toni. Here he is used as a plot device to introduce the whole story both in context and humorously. I do want to comment about her being a firefighter and thus not being able to have a baby in her family. I guess that means Brad would have to quit too? My question is that means all the thousands of paid firefighters who are male should quit? I don’t think so.

I’m calling it now: this will be a false alarm.

Has bedroom rivalry changed the time……..

Ask Vitamin Flintheart for advice….better late than never

Please don’t have her destroy their unborn child.

Hellooooo Count❤️ and Ann❤️Eiffel ❤️ers, all. Speaking of late Our Be❤️ed Count is late today, too… BUT… some words of Wisdom from The Zen of Ann❤️Eiffel concerning Tawny Tattooed ❤️ Toni’s conundrum… Sez Gorgeous Ann❤️ Eiffel… “Better Late Than Never or Nine Months, Whichever Comes First”. Secondly… "Let’s Be Careful Out There… People Cause Accidents and visa versa, Accidents Cause People. However, lowly unworthies, no need to huddle in fear, we all know Our Darling Ann❤️Eiffel will make everything all well and good. No Wonder We ALL ❤️ Ann❤️Eiffel. (btw… just to answer any unasked questions… it the dip stick shows a + sign… Dearest Ann❤️Eiffel would never advocate… it goes without saying so The❤️Count won’t) TTFN… Count…OUT!

If she IS pregnant, TJ will have to move. Oh, well, he has time.

Brad and Toni, if having a baby is real, will need TJ more than ever to be their nanny while Toni continues to work. There, all problems solved.

Don’t tell TJ before you tell Brad

Um, later.

Here comes the next generation!

Some sad news for us music fans: Eric Carmen died yesterday at the age of 74. His songs as a solo artist were great, as well as the songs he did as a member of The Raspberries. He is now in Rock-and-Roll Heaven. RIP, Eric. :(

She should’ve told TJ, “I need to talk to Brad first.”

What took so long……

Hormonal witch. Blame it on Eve, according to Moses.

In Spanish class in high school, I remember the teacher saying someone, I think another teacher, was expecting. One of the hipper students in the class said, “Expecting what?” Everyone just stared at him in silence for what must have seemed like ages from his perspective. Then he let out the same, “Ohhhhh.” as TJ. I don’t know if he actually got it, or just feigned understanding to to end the awkward silence.

Well she had the tester from CVS yesterday.

We guys tend to do that. Especially if we aren’t hitched.

“Uncle TJ” was late on the uptakes. Does Brad knoe, or, will he be slow on the uptake as well.

I can understand why this might bother her. She loves her job with the Fire Department and has put a lot of work into her career. But she would be a great mom.

refreshing to see the ingredients for an adult convo.

“It’s only fo-” (What? Sorry I’m slow!)

The timing for neither is great here. We’ll see what happens when Brad gets in.

T.J. is a little slow on the uptake.